The present invention broadly relates to a new and improved apparatus for winding a continuously arriving imbricated formation or stream of flexible flat structures or articles, especially folded printed products, into a wound product package.
In its more particular aspects, the present invention concerns an apparatus for winding a continuously arriving imbricated formation or stream of flexible flat structures or products, especially folded printed products into a wound product package upon a winding core or mandrel which is rotatably mounted in a core bearing or support arrangement. The winding apparatus is provided with delivery or conveyor means defining a product conveying path for tangentially delivering or infeeding the imbricated formation or stream to the winding core or mandrel or to the wound product package formed thereon, as the case may be. There is also provided a drive or drive means for frictionally driving the wound product package at the region of its circumference or periphery.
Comparable apparatuses are known, for example, from the German Petty Pat. No. 6,608,411, filed May 15, 1968 and from the German Patent Publication No. 2,544,135, published Nov. 25, 1982. In such prior art apparatuses sacks, bags and similar flat workpieces but not folded printed products arriving in an imbricated formation, for example newspapers, are wound into so-called "imbricated band rolls". This observation and distinction are of significance and worthy of mention because the workpieces wound up with the previously known apparatuses are practically incompressible, whereas folded printed products constitute to a certain degree compressible structures.
In the apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned German Petty Pat. No. 6,608,411 the facility or means for frictionally driving the wound product package at the region of its circumference (briefly termed "package drive" in the following description) is constituted by a driven drum or cylinder upon which the wound product package rests due to its inherent or dead weight. The wound product package is mounted to be freely rotatable at one end of a swinging or pendulum rocker. The driving power or forces which can be transmitted with this package drive are comparatively small because the power transmission theoretically only occurs at the common generatrix situated between the outer surface of the driven drum or cylinder and that of the wound product package.
Furthermore, this drive means would not be suitable for effectively processing wound printed product packages because the risk of smearing or smudging the printing ink on the flat side or information or text-containing surface of the printed products is present by virtue of the prevailing unavoidable slip.
A further disadvantage of this prior art apparatus product package or its winding core or mandrel, as the case may be, is dependent upon the size of the outer diameter of the completed or finished wound product package. This is so because the wound product package, as already mentioned, is mounted to be freely rotatable at one end of a swinging or pendulum rocker, while the outer diameter of the completely wound or finished product package is dependent on the quantity and the thickness of the products contained in the wound product package.
With this known apparatus either a floor-bound or a ground based package lifting or elevating means is necessary for the removal of a completely wound or finished wound product package, which wound package can exhibit a very substantial weight, or there must be provided an overhead package lifting or elevating means. Such floor-bound or ground based package lifting or elevating means is adjustable to different heights of the winding core or mandrel of the wound product package. On the other hand, such overhead lifting or elevating means, in the best case, can transport the finished wound product package only to one location in the same hall or work area in which the apparatus is located, however not through door openings so that an unloading or transfer of the wound product package is necessary.
The disadvantages just mentioned are at least partially overcome by the apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned German Patent Publication No. 2,544,135 since the winding core and thus also the wound product package are freely rotatably held in stationary bearing blocks or pedestals. According to the apparatus design of the aforementioned German Patent Publication No. 2,544,135, the wound product package drive is accomplished by means of two driven pressure or drive bands which partially encircle the wound product package. It is a disadvantage of this prior art apparatus that the guiding of the driven pressure or drive bands requires an appreciable technological expenditure. This is due to the fact that this guide structure for guiding the driven pressure or drive bands must be capable of compensating the markedly changing length of the section of the driven pressure bands momentarily encircling the outer circumference of the wound product package as a function of the increasing diameter of the wound product package.
Furthermore, the wrap angle of the driven pressure or drive bands is not constant with this heretofore known apparatus. Even though the danger of smearing the print in the case of printed products is probably less with the wound product package drive of the apparatus according to the aforediscussed German Patent Publication No. 2,544,135 than with the apparatus according to the initially discussed German Petty Pat. No. 6,608,411, the danger still exists that the wound up flat structures also can be soiled during the unavoidable contamination or soiling of the driven pressure or drive bands. The removal of a completely wound or finished wound product package is also not without problems with this prior art apparatus since each driven pressure or drive band must first be released from engagement with the circumference or periphery of the wound product package.